Can you add nicknames to a family tree?

Family trees aren’t just collections of names and dates - they’re stories about real people.

Whether your grandfather was always known as ‘Jack’ instead of his first name John, or a relative had a childhood nickname remembered by the whole family, these small details can help make your research feel more personal and meaningful.

Findmypast allows you to record both formal names and alternative names. This helps you preserve accurate records while still reflecting how a person was known within the family or community, keeping their history intact.

Start with a person's legal name

When building your family tree, always begin with the name that appears on official records such as birth certificates, marriage records, censuses, or military documents. Using their birth name helps ensure your research stays accurate and makes it easier to match your ancestor to historical records later on.

For example, someone registered as 'Margaret Elizabeth Smith' may appear in records under that full name and surname, even if everybody knew her as 'Mags'.

In some instances, your ancestor may also have used their nickname in official records. Try searching the nickname if you're struggling to locate them, or use Findmypast's 'Optional Keywords' search feature to filter by any other names they may have used.

Add their nickname

Once you've added your ancestor to your tree, it's time to embellish with the more personal details.

If you're using Findmypast, all you need to do is find your ancestor on your family tree, click 'Full profile', and navigate to 'Facts'. From here, you can add a variety of information, including different names.

A nickname on a Findmypast family tree.

You can also choose to keep this information private.

Keep your formatting consistent

It's best practice in all genealogy research to keep your formatting consistent, but this goes even more so for nicknames. Not only are records themselves inconsistent, but the introduction of maiden names, married names, and nicknames, can make it confusing.

If you add a Nickname via Facts, make sure to do this consistently with all of your ancestors. If you prefer to just add a note or to use another method, you can - but make sure you keep adding them this way as your research goes deeper. This makes your research easy to navigate and understand.

Nicknames are just one way to make your family tree more vivid and personal. You can also upload other media and add notes, such as:

• Family stories and memories
• Photographs
• Letters and postcards
• Newspaper clippings
• Voice recordings or interviews

These details help preserve not just names and dates, but the personalities and experiences behind them.

The Findmypast app makes this even easier by allowing you to upload photographs and records directly from your phone. If you’re visiting relatives or sorting through old family albums, you can quickly take pictures within the app and attach them straight to your online family tree, helping you capture memories before they’re lost.